Utsuki Clan
Is it a rabbit? No. It is the Utsuki Clan! With their rabbit physiology, they share many traits with the animals they share their ears with. The rabbits hail from Mori no Kuni but now they call Hi no Kuni and Konohagakure their home. Ideology One of the most first and foremost priorities of the Utsuki Clan is devotion to their cause. Originally, they were devout to their homeland's cause, and did their best to assure its protection and utmost preservation. Following their forceful removal from the land, however, this ideology has been shattered by the older members in the clan. It's since this has occurred that they've taken a more clan-centric approach. Over years of nomadic pursuits to find a new place to call home, they've set their bands of loyalty onto the clan's preservation and success. With that being said, most of the Utsuki Clan's goals are all but transparent. They've made an effort to seclude a majority of their customs, leaving most outside influence bleak over the past few years. Even upon settling, their interests still mostly lie within themselves. They aren't self-devoted to the extent that they'd betray their own newfound homeland, but they aren't necessarily fully trusting yet since they've just barely nestled in. The entirety of these ideals are rooted in the concern of being ostracized from another homeland, and forced to search once more if they wish to avoid facing the troubles of a nomadic life. Likewise, outsiders are treated in the same manner. Utsuki are taught from a young age to be curt and quick with what they have to say to outsiders, and be done. This creates a friction for Utsuki that are working with others, but through effective means of learning to trust their teammates, they can push past this barrier. That being said, outsiders that do manage to befriend an Utsuki are considered trustworthy off that feat alone, but are still monitored. In the off chance that an outsider wishes to join the clan, the Utsuki follow a strict tradition of assuring they pledge loyalty through marriage, to don the Utsuki name and begin learning their customs. Normally speaking, if an outsider rejects this opportunity, they're promptly denied further chances and are immediately pushed away from further interaction with the clan. This is to preserve the clan's customs and likewise, its loyal members. Trust is something that was broken and nearly meant the clan's doom long ago, it is now the pride of Utsuki ideology. History Origins of the Utsuki are shrouded in myth and legends. Some say they're simply the results of a super soldier experiment gone wrong. Others say they're an unnatural mutation brought forth from questionable couplings. The Utsuki themselves don't know their true origins, having never really recorded their history, but any member can give you their version of the clan's belief. They are all similar in that many, many, many years ago a God descended to Earth and disguised themselves as a beggar and asked Fox, Monkey, and Rabbit for some food. Monkey climbed a tree and brought them some fruit. Fox went to a stream, caught a fish, and brought it back to them. But Rabbit had nothing to offer but some grass. So she asked the beggar to build a fire. After the beggar started the fire, Rabbit jumped into it and offered herself as a meal for the beggar to eat. Quickly the beggar removed their disguise and pulled Rabbit from the fire. They said "You are most kind, Rabbit, but don't do anything to harm yourself. Since you were the kindest of all to me, I will give you a gift." The God carried Rabbit into their arms and placed a kiss upon her head and Rabbit grew tall to stand over her natural enemies. Her hind legs grew longer and stronger and her front paws grew fingers and thumbs and grew into long thin arms. The God told Rabbit she would be safe from predators and could now walk among the humans and find a spot within their tribes. Rabbit left the forests and found a human settlement. Whether through luck or divine intervention, they accepted her into the tribe with no trouble. She found a husband and their children had her long lapin limbs and ears. Their children also inherited the appearance and so on and so forth. As the family grew in number, they took an actual name - Utsuki. The Utsuki, while not numerous, grew to be very important to their tribe. They lived beyond the outskirts of the camps, serving as advance scouts and perimeter guards; locating and delaying enemy forces until the main camps itself could prepare and send reinforcements. Because of their unique leporine bodies which made them able to move quickly and hear small sounds over long distances, the clan carried out its purpose quite well. The Utsuki fielded many attacks against their tribe in its time, and eventually incurred the wrath of several enemies, both from within and out of the tribe, which would later lead to the family leaving their home country. It started with a small group, two or three teams really, gaining the notice of the Utsuki scouts. Believing this to be the point guard of a much larger force, several of the more powerful family members went out to hunt them down along with a force provided by the tribe. They were duped. Led on a wild goose chase away from their family and the camps. A concerted assault by the true invasion force then devastated the tribe. Without the usual forewarning from the Utsuki, there was no time for the camps to prepare and even the squad sent to pick off the distraction group returned home at the tail end of the destruction. Skilled though they were, the few remaining Utsuki were vastly outnumbered and were only able to slightly push back the onslaught until the tribe's allies could arrive in earnest. The invasion was eventually pushed back, but the damage done was immensely devastating. As the tribe rebuilt, the blame for the destruction began circling. Fingers were pointed every which way and tensions built. One of the jealous enemies of the Utsuki saw a chance to rid themselves of the rival and manipulated popular opinion to blame the Utsuki for not being able to see through the distraction force. Despite their actions having been a mistake, popular opinion is hard to fight against. With the tribe against the family, blaming them for almost the entirety of the invasion, the tribe leader had little choice but to banish the remaining members from his tribe. Embittered both by their failure to save the clan and the lack of sympathy towards the loss of their family, the surviving Utsuki fled the country. The family wandered for a while, trying to find a new tribe they could call home, but it seemed that all the tribes around had heard of their failure and refused to take them in. They seemed to have a black mark upon them as failures and the head of the family decided to leave the country to try and find a new start. They moved south, into the lush forests of Hi no Kuni. When Konoha ninja intercepted the small Utsuki envoy, they were accepting enough to hear them out despite being in a war. It was during a meeting with the Country Leaders that the current Head learned that Hi no Kuni wanted to avoid conflict as much as possible, and it presented an opportunity. They offered the services of the Clan, their scouting abilities, to Konoha to help keep them out of conflict as best they could, in exchange for a place of their own. The Leaders entered a tentative agreement with the Utsuki. They would give the Utsuki citizenship at the end of the War, provided they managed to help keep the people of Konoha alive and safe. While many Utsuki were against trusting another Country only a few short years after being ostracized from their homeland, the leader entered into the alliance because they knew that the family wouldn't last much longer as isolated nomads. They needed this possible new home. They fell back into their old role of forward scouts easily, serving Konoha for near five years, helping prevent numerous deadly battles from occurring or giving Konoha a tactical advantage with enemy positions. The war did come to an end, eventually, and peace settled over the land. Konoha kept their promise, granting land to the Utsuki and a place among the populace. The family settled within their new home, establishing the Burrow as a place where they could be safe. Over the next couple of decades, the Utsuki worked on stabilizing themselves. The scars from their ostracization still ran deep within the older family members, so they tended to keep to themselves within the Burrow. The younger members did, however, try to integrate themselves into Konoha, making wary friends with people so they could learn the customs of their new home. But the family, in whole, stayed out of politics for the most part. They weren't interested in them and they were still too new to the Village to have any standing. Unless an issue was brought to them directly, they remained neutral, even through the changing of Hokages. After nearly thirty years in the Village, the Utsuki are still wary, but they are steadily gaining confidence that this may be the place for them. Hierarchy The Utsuki Clan's hierarchal stature is generally built on the standard of age. With their traditions taking some of the qualities of Confucianism, elders are seen as wisdomous figures and sought after for their intellectual competence. This only became more emphasized in the newest generation of Utsuki, as a majority of the current elderly Utsuki survived through the clan's ostracization from Mori no Kuni. Due to their various personal experiences they're seen as ideal in making choices, and often times play a social role in the clan's fortitude, as well as the actions carried out by the higher-ups in the Utsuki Clan. Beyond elderly respect, there's very little intricacy in the clan's inner workings. They've kept their hierarchy rather simple, primarily because they're being steady on repopulation due to their concerns on how long they can remain in their new homeland. There is only one title of relevance to the current Utsuki structure: Clan Leader A given in a clan. The Utsuki Clan Head regulates rules, traditions, teachings, relationships with political figures of the village, and anything else they can get their hands on. They are essentially the Utsuki Clan Head's hegemonic leader, typically picked depending on their capabilities. Be it they're the best scout among the entirety of the clan, the wisest, or even the strongest, the Utsuki Clan prioritizes having someone with a forte of some sorts as their Head. They're expected to be capable of protecting the clan, after all. The Head is allowed to choose their successor through whatever means they wish, but unless the new Head has the respect of the clan, chances are they won't last long. Impeachment can happen through a majority consensus and a new Head, chosen through a majority consensus, will be given the role. Kekkei genkai Leporine Features One would need to be blind to be unable to pick an Utsuki out from a crowd. The clan has developed features akin to that of rabbits, making them excellent physical fighters and scouters. Utsuki are born rather small, which is hilarious considering how tall they end up. Even from birth, they sport the digitigrade legs and large lapin ears their Clan is famous for. Unlike their tiny animal counterpart, only their ears are covered with soft velveteen fur, that is always the same color as their natural head hair. Most Utsuki have long pointed ears that stand upright off their heads, but some will be born with ears that flop down. Either way, the Utsuki's hearing is unparalleled, able to hear at a higher frequency than even canines and can pick up sounds from further away. Utsuki with upright ears can move them independent of each other, creating a radar effect and allowing them to hear from nearly all directions. Since their legs are digitigrade, rather than plantigrade, their hips are wider set than average humans. Their legs are thick with corded muscles, perfectly designed for quick movements and long jumps. Because of their lower body build, a full grown Utsuki will usually end up being slightly taller than average, though they are like, 70% leg. The norm within the clan for an adult is usually around 6ft [183cm] tall, not including their ears. Of course, their height also leads to one of their greatest weaknesses. Utsuki have some of the most powerful legs, but their spines are not. The growth spurt, combined with their odd bone structure has lead to their spines having bad supporting muscles and exposed nerves. This can lead to pains as they grow into seniority and can also lead to complications during combat. It's a weak spot, any direct hits upon their spinal column can cause, in best case scenarios, severe pain, and, in worst case scenarios, complete paralysis. They've taken precautions, most Utsuki wear special armor that runs along their spines to give added support, but it's far from a guarantee. Extreme Endurance The musculature of the Utsuki Clan has been molded and developed over centuries to promote endurance. It's just another part of what makes them incredible scouts. When they pace themselves, an Utsuki can travel massive distances and go several days without needing sleep, though they do need to eat. An Utsuki is basically a bottomless pit when it comes to food, they need to consume a lot to maintain energy. When they do wear themselves down to the wire, they crash. Hard. An exhausted Utsuki will need to rest for long periods to restore their energy. It's not unheard of for them to sleep a couple of days straight when tired.